A scam warning about premium rate numbers which is currently doing the rounds on social media may itself be a scam.

A message posted on Facebook and circulated has suggested that with Christmas coming the Royal Mail and Trading Standards were warning folks about a scam which sees a card from a firm PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) posted through people’s doors, claiming they were unable to deliver a parcel.

The warning suggests the card has a phone number on it to contact the company – 0906 6611911 – which is a Premium rate number.

The web warning suggests that if you call the number you will be billed a whopping £315.

The warning goes on to state that if you receive such a card the homeowner should call “Royal Mail Fraud on 0207 2396655”.

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It goes on to urge people to circulate the warning to “family friends and neighbours”.

However, in December 2015 the Phone-paid Service Authority (PSA) – the official UK regulator for content, goods and services charged to a phone bill – issued its own warning about the online warning.

Describing it as a “hoax email circulating about premium rate postal delivery scam”, the senior communications executive noted how the chain email was circulating about an 09 number that was shut down by PhonepayPlus (the forerunner of the PSA) in December 2005.

The out of date warning which the phone service regulator said has already been fixed

Noting how the same phone number and scam operated, it revealed callers were “charged up to £15 for the call.”

The news alert noted: “Despite our best efforts chain emails still sometimes circulate on the internet warning about this number even though it is no longer operating and hasn’t been for some considerable time.”

The authority reassured the public the 0906 number was not longer in service and urged them not to forward the warning e-mail or Facebook post.

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It added: “If you do receive a delivery card through your letterbox which you do not believe is genuine and asks you to dial a premium rate number (usually beginning with 09, 0870, 0871, 0872, and 0873) you can use our Number Checker (https://psauthority.org.uk/about-us/number-checker) [which] allows you to enter any number you are not sure about and provides you with any information we have about the company running the service.

“We have further advice and information for the public about how to recognise premium rate services and their costs on our website (https://psauthority.org.uk/).

“If you have an issue with a premium rate service, first contact the service provider. If you need further information or assistance you can contact PhonepayPlus online or by calling us on 0300 30 300 20 for further guidance.”